The '''History of the Church''' is a vital part of the Orthodox Christian faith. Orthodox Christians are defined significantly by their continuity with all those who have gone before, those who first received and preached the truth of [[Jesus Christ]] to the world, those who helped to formulate the expression and worship of our faith, and those who continue to move forward in the unchanging yet ever-dynamic [[Holy Tradition]] of the [[Orthodox Church]].

==Ante-Nicene era (100-325)==

*107 Martyrdom of [[Ignatius of Antioch]]; death crucifixion of [[Apostle Symeon]], second Bp. of Jerusalem.

*ca.110 ''[[w:Apocalypse of Peter|Apocalypse of Peter]]'', apocryphal work, considered Scripture by [[Clement of Alexandria]] and the list in the [[w:Muratorian fragment|Muratorian Canon]].

*ca.110-112 Roman magistrate [[w:Pliny the Younger|Pliny the Younger]], imperial governor of the province of [[w:Bithynia et Pontus|Bithynia et Pontus]], writes to Emperor Trajan for instructions regarding official policy concerning Christians (''[http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?pageno=117&fk_files=2025 Epistulae X.96]''; [[w:Epistulae_(Pliny)#Book_10|Book 10]]); the contents of the letters were to become the standard policy toward Christians for the rest of the pagan era, also containing the earliest external account of Christian worship, and reasons for the execution of Christians. *ca.117-138 [[w:Rylands Library Papyrus P52|Rylands Library Papyrus P52]] is generally accepted as the earliest extant record of a canonical [[New Testament]] text, dating somewhere between 117 A.D. and 138 A.D.*120 Beginning of time of the Apologists: [[Justin Martyr]], [[Apostle Aristides|Aristides]], [[Tatian]], [[Athenagoras of Athens]], [[Theophilus of Antioch|Theophilus]], [[Minucius Felix]], [[Tertullian]] and [[Apostle Quadratus|Quadratus]], writing to defend the Church against internal heresies, and to defend the faith before the Jews, and before the larger pagan world, using Greek philosophic concepts and terms.

*128 [[w:Aquila of Sinope|Aquila's]] Greek translation of the [[Old Testament]].

*156 Beginning of [[Montanism]].

*165 Martyrdom of [[Justin Martyr|Justin]].

*166 Pope [[Soter of Rome|Soter]] inaugurates in Rome a separate annual feast for [[Pascha]], in addition to the weekly [[Lord's Day|Sunday]] celebrations of the [[Resurrection]], which is also held on a Sunday, in contrast to the [[Quartodeciman|Quartodecimans]]. *167 Death of [[w:Abercius of Hieropolis|Abercius of Hieropolis]], Wonderworker and Equal to the Apostles.

*ca. 170 Emergence of [[w:Muratorian fragment|Muratorian Canon]].

*ca. 175 Tatian’s [[w:Diatessaron|Diatessaron]] harmonizes the four canonical gospels into single narrative.

*190 [[Pantaenus]] founds the [[Alexandrian schoolCatechetical School of Alexandria|Catechetical School at Alexandria]].

*193-211 [[w:Symmachus the Ebionite|Symmachus']] Greek translation of the [[Old Testament]].

*195 Bishop Saint Elvan dies at Glastonbury.

*196 Syriac gnostic philosopher [[w:Bardaisan|Bardaisan]] writes of Christians amongst the Parthians, Bactrians (Kushans) and other peoples in the Persian Empire.*197 [[Quartodeciman]] controversy; [[Tertullian]] writes ''[[w:Apologeticus|Apologeticus]],'' his most famous work, including the phrase ''"the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church"'' (Apologeticus, Ch.50).

*203 Martyrdom of Sts. [[Perpetua and Felicitas]] in Carthage's amphitheatre.

*206 King Abgar IX converts Edessa to Christianity.

*208 [[Tertullian]] writes that Christ has followers on the far side of the Roman wall in Britain where Roman legions have not yet penetrated.

*215 Conversion of [[Tertullian]] to [[Montanism]].

*220 [[w:Sextus Julius Africanus|Sextus Julius Africanus]] writes the ''Chronographiai'', a history of the world up to year 217.

*225 Death of [[Tertullian]]; martyrdom of [[Tatiana of Rome]].

*ca.225-250 ''[[w:Didascalia Apostolorum|Didascalia Apostolorum]]'', ''"Teaching of the Apostles"'', oldest extant manual of church order describes church life at that time; circulated widely in Persia, being translated early on from Greek into Syriac.

*265 The word "[[Homoousios]]", "of the same substance", to define relationship between [[God the Father|Father]] and Son, used for first time by Modalist Monarchians of Cyrene, playing an important part in defining Orthodoxy at [[First Ecumenical Council|Nicene Council]] in 325.

*270 Before 270, Gregory Thaumaturgus sees first known apparition of the Theotokos; Death of [[Gregory the Wonderworker|Gregory Thaumaturgus]]; [[w:Porphyry of Tyre|Porphyry of Tyre]] writes ''Against the Christians'', a powerful anti-Christian book, causing several Christian contemporaries to try and refute him, and which was later banned and burned in 448; first priest ordained in [[w:Al-Mada'in|Seleucia-Ctesiphon]].

*284 [[Diocletian]] becomes Roman emperor, persecutes Church and martyrs an estimated one million Christians; martyrdom of [[Cosmas and Damian (Rome)|Cosmas and Damian]], Andrew Stratelates ("the General") and 2,593 soldiers with him in Cilicia; the ''Era of the Martyrs'' dating system, currently used by the Coptic Church, had its beginning on this date, its year one.

*285 [[Anthony the Great]] flees to the desert to pursue a life of prayer.

*286 Martrydom of [[Maurice]] and the [[w:Theban Legion|Theban Legion]].

*ca.300 Bp. [[w:David of Basra|David of Basra]] undertook missionary work in India, among the earliest documented Christian missionaries in India.

*300 By this date, the Chrisitan population is about 6,200,000, or 10.5% of the population of the Roman Empire (based on population of 60 million).

*301 [[Gregory the Enlightener|Gregory the Illuminator]] converts King Tiridates I of Armenia to the Christian faith.

*302 20,000 Martyrs burned at Nicomedia.

*303 Outbreak of the [[w:Diocletianic Persecution|Great Persecution]] (303-311), as Diocletian and Galerius launch the last and most severe persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire; martyrdom of [[George the Trophy-bearer]]; martyrdom of [[Genesius of Rome|Genesios of Rome]].

*305 Martyrdom of [[Panteleimon]] and [[Catherine of Alexandria]]. Martyrdom of Bishop Ianouarios of Beneventio of Campania and his Companions.

*ca.305-311 [[Lactantius]] writes ''Divinae Institutiones'', the first systematic Latin account of the Christian view of life.

*312 Vision and conversion of [[Constantine the Great]]; defeat of Maxentius at the [[Battle of Milvian Bridge]], making Constantine Emperor of the West; martyrdom of [[Lucian of Antioch]], who had completed a recension of the [[Septuagint]] and the Four [[Gospels]] in Greek, and inspired the development of the [[w:School of Antioch|School of Antioch]] and Biblical textual study.

* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 1: From the Beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon''. (ISBN 0687171822) * Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 2: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation''. (ISBN 0687171830) * Gonzalez, Justo L. ''A History of Christian Thought, Volume 3: From the Protestant Reformation to the Twentieth Century''. (ISBN 0687171849)

* Gonzalez, Justo L. ''The Story of Christianity, Volume 1: The Early Church to the Reformation''. (ISBN 0060633158)